H. Res. 536 

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

December 15, 2015. 

Whereas despite the strong tradition of independent and critical media in many countries in Latin America and the 

Caribbean, journalists in some countries are becoming increasingly vulnerable to violence and government harassment; 

Whereas, on July 29, 2015, the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee convened a hearing titled ‘‘Threats to Press 

Freedom in the Americas’’ and Carlos Lauria, Senior 

Americas Program Coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists stated that ‘‘Scores of journalists have 

been killed and disappeared. Media outlets have been 

bombed and forced into censorship***. Censorship due to 

violence in Latin America has reached one of its highest 

points since most of the region was dominated by military rule more than three decades ago.’’; 

Whereas in 2014, Cuban authorities detained 1,817 members 

of civil society, 31 of whom were independent journalists; 

Whereas in Cuba, independent journalists face sustained harassment, including detention and physical abuse from the 

Castro regime; 

Whereas in Ecuador, in September 2015, the government 

took steps to close the sole press freedom monitoring or-
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ganization, Fundamedios, for exceeding its corporate 

charter, but the government relented in the face of international criticism and potential economic reprisals; 

Whereas in the country, forced corrections by the government 

have become a means of institutional censorship; 

Whereas according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 

Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in the 

world for the press; 

Whereas in Mexico, over 50 journalists have been killed or 

have disappeared since 2007, at least 11 reporters have 

been killed since 2011, 4 of them in direct reprisal for 

their work; 

Whereas according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 

at least four journalists have been killed in Brazil in 

2015, many times after being tortured and having their 

bodies mutilated; 

Whereas Evany Jose ́ Metzker, a political blogger in the state 

of Minas Gerais who had been investigating a child prostitution ring, was found decapitated outside the town of 

Padre Paraı ́so; 

Whereas according to the Organization of American States 

(OAS) 2014 Annual Report of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, journalists covering protests 

in Venezuela were subject to assaults, obstruction, detention, raids, threats, censorship orders, and confiscation or 

destruction of equipment; 

Whereas, on April 21, 2015, a lawsuit within the 29th District Tribunal of the Metropolitan area of Caracas 

charged the journal El Nacional and its Chief Editor 

Miguel Henrique Otero for ‘‘reproducing false information’’ and was forced to flee Venezuela; 
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Whereas the Honduran national human rights commissioner 

reported that eight journalists and social communicators 

were killed as of September, compared with three in 

2013, and dozens of cases in which journalists reported 

being victims of threats and persecution; 

Whereas according to the OAS 2014 Annual Report of the 

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, members 

of the media and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) 

stated the press ‘‘self-censored’’ due to fear of reprisal 

from organized crime or corrupt government officials; 

Whereas in Colombia, there were 98 incidents of violence and 

harassment against journalists, 30 were physically attacked, and 45 were victims of harassment or intimidation due to their reporting; 

Whereas members of illegal armed groups sought to inhibit 

freedom of expression by intimidating, threatening, kidnapping, and killing journalists; 

Whereas national and international NGOs reported that local 

media representatives regularly practiced self-censorship 

because of threats of violence from these groups; 

Whereas according to the OAS 2014 Annual Report of the 

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, throughout 2014, Guatemala presented accounts of cases of harassment and the filing of several criminal complaints 

against a newspaper that criticized the Administration; 

Whereas according to the Department of State’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014 in Nicaragua, 

the government continued to use direct and indirect 

means to pressure and seek to close independent radio 

stations, allegedly for political reasons; 
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Whereas according to the Department of State’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014 in Argentina, 

a survey released of 830 journalists throughout the country indicated 53 percent of respondents worked for a 

media outlet that self-censored content; and 

Whereas almost half the journalists surveyed said they selfcensored in their reporting on the national government: 

Now, therefore, be it 

Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

(1) supports a free press in Latin America and the 

Caribbean and condemns violations of press freedom and 

violence against journalists; 

(2) urges countries in the region to implement recommendations from the Organization of American 

States’ Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of 

Expression to its Member States; 

(3) urges countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to be vocal in condemning violations of press freedom, violence against journalists, and the culture of impunity that leads to self-censorship; 

(4) urges countries in the Western Hemisphere to 

uphold the principles outlined in the Inter-American 

Democratic Charter and urges their neighbors in the region to stand by the charter they are a party to; and 

(5) urges the United States Agency for International Development and the Department of State to 
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assist, when appropriate, the media in closed societies to 

promote an open and free press. 

Attest: 

Clerk.